Middle Ground Books: After Hours

An ACOTAR Series RecapMegan, Debra, and Lance attempt the questionable task of explaining ACOTAR in one episode, with Megan doing most of the actual explaining while the other two try to keep up. With Middle Ground Books preparing for its midnight release party on Monday, October 26, they work through the world, the lore, and why Sarah J. Maas’s fantasy series has readers so invested. Join them for the crash course, whether you already know your High Fae from your humans or you’re just as lost as Lance and Debra.⚠️ Spoiler WarningThis chapter includes spoilers for the A Court of Thorns and Roses series as Megan attempts to explain several books’ worth of story in one sitting. Some of the readings also contain explicit language and mature material. Pasted markdown📖 Question of the ChapterIf you had to convince someone to read ACOTAR, what would you tell them without spoiling it?📚 Covered Pages“A Court of Thorns and Roses,” “A Court of Mist and Fury,” “A Court of Wings and Ruin,” “A Court of Frost and Starlight,” and “A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas “Inherit the Stars” and The Giants Trilogy by James P. Hogan 🌙 ACOTAR Midnight Release PartyMonday, October 26 at 11:00 PMMiddle Ground Books606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KSCome dressed in your High Fae court best for special drinks, trivia, a craft, a photo backdrop, and ACOTAR-themed merchandise. Book sales begin at midnight and continue until 1:00 AM. 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books📖 Print & Ebooks:https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop.🎧 Audiobooks:https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds:https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414🌐 Website & Events:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com🏪 Visit the Store:Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS.📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

Megan, Debra, and Lance get into the Halloween spirit with books that still unsettle them just talking about them. They break down what they like about each story’s structure and how each one finds its own way to deliver a scare.📖 Question of the ChapterWhat is the scariest thing you’ve ever read or watched?📚 Covered Pages“It Could Have Been Her” by Lisa Jewell“The Book of Night” and “The Thief of Night” by Holly Black“Slewfoot” by Brom“At the Mountains of Madness” by H.P. Lovecraft“The Tommyknockers” by Stephen King“The Resurrectionist” and “The Cult of Dr. Black” by E.B. Hudspeth“Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon” by Matt Dinniman“A Court of Thorns and Roses” series by Sarah J. Maas🛒 Support Middle Ground Books📖 Print & Ebooks:https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop.🎧 Audiobooks:https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds:https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414🌐 Website & Events:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com🏪 Visit the Store:Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS.📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

Megan, Debra, and Lance look back on the October they grew up with and the one they now get to create at Middle Ground Books. Now those old Halloween memories sit beside the kind of October they’re building for the bookstore and its community.📖 Question of the Chapter:What Halloween tradition from your childhood do you still miss?📚 Covered Pages“Dreamland” by Olive Blake“The Book of Night” by Holly Black“The Pirate Queen” by Ariel Lawhon“Red Rising” by Pierce Brown“The King in Yellow”“Twilight”“A Court of Thorns and Roses” series“Throne of Glass” series“A Court of Splintered Harmony” Pasted markdown🛒 Support Middle Ground Books📖 Print & Ebooks:https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop.🎧 Audiobooks:https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds:https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414🌐 Website & Events:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com🏪 Visit the Store:Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS.📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

Some books are a Snickers bar. Others deserve the full fine-dining treatment.Megan, Debra, and Lance turn the focus from what we read to how we read, digging into attention, reading habits, and whether every book deserves the same kind of time and thought.📖 Question of the Chapter:How do you read when you really want a book to stick with you?📚 Covered Pages“Proust and the Squid” and “Reader, Come Home” by Maryanne Wolf“Walking” by Henry David Thoreau“The Iliad” by Homer“The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien“Yes I Can” by Sammy Davis Jr.“The Fine Art of Lying”“Why Your Five-Year-Old Could Not Have Done That”🛒 Support Middle Ground Books📖 Print & Ebooks:https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop.🎧 Audiobooks:https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds:https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com🏪 Visit the Store:Browse the shelves, meet the team, and find your next read at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS.📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studioshttps://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

📖 Question of the Chapter: When fall hits, what kind of book do you reach for first: something spooky, something cozy, a classic, or something completely different?The possibility, the rumor of fall.Megan, Debra, and Lance settle into fall reading season and the shift in what sounds good once the weather starts to turn. Some readers lean spooky, some want something cozy, and some finally reach for the classic or new release they have been meaning to start.Fall is also a good time to clear the reading list. Life is too short to keep forcing your way through a book you are not enjoying when there are so many others waiting. The gang keeps that idea going by looking at what feels worth picking up next when the season changes. Chapter Forty-Seven: Let Those Leaves Fall The DNF Episode for Fall Reading Season🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more book recommendations, bookstore life, new releases, and after hours conversations from Middle Ground Books.🛒 Support Middle Ground Books:Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are.🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well.📖 Print and Ebookshttps://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store.🎧 Audiobookshttps://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden FindsMiddle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else.https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read.📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨🗓️ Store Events and News:Speculative Fiction Writers Group meets Thursday, September 17th at 5:30 PM.Late Night with Metalark follows Thursday, September 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.Family Story Time is Saturday, September 19th at 11:00 AM.Second Breakfast Book Club meets Saturday, September 19th at 4:00 PM to discuss Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, with themed food from the book.The fall sale begins Tuesday, September 22nd with yellow, orange, and red tag discounts.The first Crochet and Knitting Ensemble, also known as CAKE, meets Tuesday, September 22nd at 5:30 PM.The Threshing Day midnight release party begins Monday, September 28th at 11:00 PM, with the book available at midnight.📚 Covered PagesA Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis StevensonA Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. MaasA Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony SnicketAnimal Farm by George OrwellAutumn at the Cat Cafe by Kathleen FullerFahrenheit 451 by Ray BradburyFrog and Toad All Year by Arnold LobelHollywood, Ending by John GreenLabyrinths by Jorge Luis BorgesLeaf Man by Lois Ehlert1984 by George OrwellNine Goblins by T. KingfisherSabriel by Garth NixSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt VonnegutThe Knave and the Moon by Rachel GilligThe Pirate Queen by Ariel LawhonThe Second Death of Locke by V. L. BovalinoThrone of Glass series by Sarah J. MaasTitanium Noir by Nick HarkawayVictorious by V. E. SchwabVicious by V. E. Schwab🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios:Produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.Email: ronald@cosmicatomsounds.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSoundYouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

Take a seat as Middle Ground Books After Hours tests the old line: “the book was better.”Megan, Debra, and Lance look at what books can hold that screen versions often lose, from internal character work to narrator voice, then turn toward the rare cases where another format may understand the story better.Percy Jackson missed the point. The Princess Bride may have improved the source. Winnie-the-Pooh might not belong on screen at all. Chapter Forty-Six: The Book Was Better, Right?You Don’t Know Pooh🔔 Subscribe:Subscribe for more after hours book talk, bookstore life, and reader conversations from Middle Ground Books.📚 Covered PagesNine Goblins by T. KingfisherPercy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick RiordanPride and Prejudice by Jane AustenProject Hail Mary by Andy WeirStarship Troopers by Robert A. HeinleinThe Empyrean series by Rebecca YarrosThe Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. TolkienThe Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. TolkienThe Odyssey by HomerThe Princess Bride by William GoldmanThe Return of the King by J. R. R. TolkienThe Witcher series by Andrzej SapkowskiWinnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne🛒 Support Middle Ground Books:Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are.🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well.📖 Print and Ebookshttps://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store.🎧 Audiobookshttps://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden FindsMiddle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else.https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read.📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨🗓️ Store Events and News:Speculative Fiction Writers Group meets Thursday, September 17th at 5:30 PM.Late Night with Metalark follows Thursday, September 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.Family Story Time is Saturday, September 19th at 11:00 AM.Second Breakfast Book Club meets Saturday, September 19th at 4:00 PM to discuss Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, with themed food from the book.The fall sale begins Tuesday, September 22nd with yellow, orange, and red tag discounts.The first Crochet and Knitting Ensemble, also known as CAKE, meets Tuesday, September 22nd at 5:30 PM.The Threshing Day midnight release party begins Monday, September 28th at 11:00 PM, with the book available at midnight.🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios:Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.Email: ronald@cosmicatomsounds.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSoundYouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

💬 Comment Question:What book would you defend even if everyone else calls it strange?Descend into madness with Middle Ground Books: After Hours as Chapter Forty-Five slips between mad science, cosmic horror, octopus intelligence, and fiction that eats away at memory.Kate McKinnon’s "The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science" with weird kids, theatrical audiobook narration, Tim Burton vibes, and middle grade storytelling that still works once you’re grown.Also on the shelf: "At the Mountains of Madness", "The Mountain in the Sea", "There Is No Antimemetics Division", Megan’s fantasy homework for ACOTAR, and books that lose something when they leave the page.🔔 Subscribe:Subscribe for more after hours book talk, bookstore life, and reader conversations from Middle Ground Books.📚 Covered PagesThe Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnonAt the Mountains of Madness by H. P. LovecraftThe Mountain in the Sea by Ray NaylerRemarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltGreen City Wars by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra AndrewsThere Is No Antimemetics Division by qntmThe Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon ChakrabortyThornhedge by T. KingfisherACOTAR series by Sarah J. MaasThrone of Glass by Sarah J. MaasThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryWinnie-the-Pooh by A. A. MilneFrog and Toad by Arnold LobelWhirlwind: My Life Reporting the News by Bill Kurtis🛒 Support Middle Ground Books:Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are.🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well.📖 Print and Ebookshttps://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store.🎧 Audiobookshttps://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden FindsMiddle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else.https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read.📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨🗓️ Store Events and News:Page to Screen Book Club discusses Remarkably Bright Creatures on Thursday, September 10th at 5:30 PM.Great American Market takes over downtown Emporia on Saturday, September 12th.Storytime with Debra is Saturday, September 12th at 11:00 AM.Sci-Fi Book Club meets Saturday, September 12th at 4:00 PM to discuss Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky.Bill Kurtis will be at the Emporia Granada Theatre on Sunday, September 13th at 2:00 PM for a journalism panel with Max McCoy and Alec Loganbill. Middle Ground Books will be there selling copies of Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News.Book Club meets Wednesday, September 16th at 5:30 PM to discuss The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews.🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios:Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.Email: ronald@cosmicatomsounds.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSoundYouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

Middle Ground Books After Hours introduces Readers Theater, a new audio narrative format where the hosts read a selected portion of a story and the production turns it into a theater-of-the-mind experience.For this first installment, Megan, Debra, and Lance read from Nephilim X Russia, an unpublished story presented as a first look with the author redacted for now.Chapter Forty-Five: Readers TheaterNephilim X Russia⚠️ Listener Discretion:This Readers Theater episode contains uncensored profanity, gun violence, knife violence, a graphic injury scene, and sudden loud noises. Listener discretion is advised, especially for younger listeners or anyone sensitive to intense audio scenes.💬 Comment Question:Do you want to hear more of Nephilim X Russia in a future Readers Theater episode? Like the video and leave a comment if Middle Ground Books After Hours should continue the story.🔔 Subscribe:Subscribe for more after hours book talk, bookstore life, and audio storytelling from Middle Ground Books.🎭 About Readers Theater:Readers Theater is designed to give local authors, new writers, and published authors a way to hear their work performed in an audio narrative format.This episode includes only the opening portion of Nephilim X Russia, not the full book. It was recorded as a first-read performance, so the reactions and discoveries are part of the experience.If you have a story you would like considered for a future Readers Theater episode, reach out to Middle Ground Books.📚 Featured Story:Nephilim X Russia🛒 Support Middle Ground Books:Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are.🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well.📖 Print and Ebookshttps://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooksWhen ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store.🎧 Audiobookshttps://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden FindsMiddle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else.https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read.📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at:https://www.middlegroundbooks.com📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨🗓️ Store Events and News:Check the Middle Ground Books website, newsletter, and socials for the latest store events, book clubs, author visits, and community updates.🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios:Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.This Readers Theater installment was edited and sound designed by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios for an immersive audio narrative experience.If you have a podcast, audio story, film, song, small business, or creative project you want to bring to life, you do not have to have everything figured out before reaching out. Cosmic Atom Sound Studios works with people who have a vision, even if they are still shaping the next step.Reach out for podcast production, narrative audio, background music, film sound, audio cleanup, or business media for your small business, brand, or creative project.You can email or follow the social media handles below!Email: ronald@cosmicatomsounds.com / cosmicatomsounds   / cosmicatomsound  YouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

Middle Ground Books After Hours checks in with a short episode while “Cosmic” Ron, the show’s producer and audio engineer, works on something much bigger for next week.Megan, Debra, and Lance use the quick episode to catch up on store news, listener comments, and the events coming up before the next full chapter. There is also a very direct reminder that the website and newsletter exist for a reason.Chapter Forty-Three: We Didn’t Forget YouRead the Newsletter💬 Comment Question:Do you actually read the newsletters you sign up for, or do you let them pile up?🔔 Subscribe:Subscribe for more after hours book talk from Middle Ground Books.📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨📚 Covered PagesHer Last Breath by Taylor AdamsThe Call of Cthulhu by H. P. LovecraftYes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr. by Sammy Davis Jr., written with Jane and Burt Boyar🗓️ Store Events and News:All events are at Middle Ground Books and Gifts, 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, Kansas, unless otherwise noted.Fantasy Book Club meets Thursday, August 27th from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.Wichita Comic Con is August 29th and 30th in Wichita, Kansas. Kai and Diego will be there representing Middle Ground Books.Dungeon Crawler Carl Lit Group meets Sunday, August 30th from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.The first Speculative Fiction Writers Group meets Thursday, September 3rd at 5:30 PM for fantasy, science fiction, horror, romantasy, and other fiction writers.First Friday is September 4th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM in downtown Emporia, featuring artist Anisa Rodriguez.Max McCoy will present his new book at Red Rocks, the home of William Allen White, on September 8th at 2:00 PM.Horror Book Club meets September 8th at 5:30 PM to discuss Her Last Breath with Diego.There are also other events happening between this episode and next week’s full episode, so check the Middle Ground Books website, newsletter, and socials for the most current schedule.And yes, sign up for the newsletter if you want the full rundown of what is happening at the store....🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios:Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios.If you have a podcast, audio story, film, song, small business, or creative project you want to bring to life, you do not have to have everything figured out before reaching out. Cosmic Atom Sound Studios works with people who have a vision, even if they are still shaping the next step.Reach out for podcast production, narrative audio, background music, film sound, audio cleanup, or business media for your small business, brand, or creative project.You can email or follow the social media handles below!Email: ronald@cosmicatomsounds.com / cosmicatomsounds   / cosmicatomsound